Why Mobile Devices Are Used Differently in Asia

I’ve
often heard makers of mobile applications and devices at conferences in the
United States talk about all that’s done in Asia, but efforts to port similar
technologies to the States never seem to work. For example, Sky Dayton’s
company, Helio, had a
cool device
and a partnership with powerful Asian operator Docomo, yet their technology
could not take off.

In
a talk today at EmTech@MIT
2009,
Bill Moggridge, founder of IDEO, outlined some of the difficult considerations
that go into designing for a connected world. As always, user behavior proves
to be king. In Asia, he noted, many people have long commutes in situations
where it would be rude to talk or make noise. The commutes, however, are
perfect for fiddling with buttons and learning complex mobile apps. Moggridge
attributes the popularity of certain types of text-heavy mobile apps to this
ultimately behavioral condition.

In
the United States, Moggridge sees nearly the opposite situation. People in the
U.S. are likely to have long car commutes, where fiddling with buttons would be
dangerous, but they can talk to their hearts’ content.

He
concludes that developers who want to transfer technologies between cultures
need to consider behavioral differences, and they need to be sure to test with
users.